USA > Oklahoma > Portrait and biographical record of Oklahoma; commemorating the achievements of citizens who have contributed to the progress of Oklahoma and the development of its resources, V. 1 > Part 28
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A. M. SPRAGUE, M. D., a physician and surgeon of Kingfisher, who has built up a large and remunerative practice within the few years of his residence here, has been actively associated with the progress and improvement of the city, and is generally esteemed for his pub- lic spirit.
The paternal grandparents of the doctor were Silas and Roxie (Benedict) .Sprague, the latter a cousin of Benedict Arnold of Revolutionary war fame. Silas Sprague, a native of Vermont, was a son of Ignatius Sprague, who resided in the vicinity of Boston, Mass., and was of the sterling old Plymouth ancestry, three brothers bearing the name, and natives of Wales, having settled near the "Hub" city at an early day. Ignatius Sprague was a soldier of the Revolu- tionary war, and his son Silas was a hero of the war of 1812. The latter located in Syracuse at an early period and later settled in Erie, Pa., whence he semoved to Paris, Canada, and cleared a farm in the forest. In 1840 he located in Ionia county, Mich., in the midst of the oak forests, about ten miles west of Ionia, and there the remainder of his life was passed in the arduous labors of the frontiersman. Both he and his devoted wife attained the advanced age of eighty-five.
The parents of our subject, J. W. and Amy (Sayles) Sprague, were natives of Syracuse and Geneseo, N. Y., respectively. His father, who had spent many of the years of his boyhood in Canada, improved a farm in the vicinity of the town of Paris, but in 1837 he removed to Lorain county, Ohio, and was employed as a ship car- penter in the Black river ship yards. In 1840 he settled on a tract of land near Ionia, Mich., and, during the sixteen years of his residence there, developed an excellent farm. From 1856
to 1870 he dwelt in Crown Point, Ind., and for some time served as sheriff and in other local offices. He lived to a good age, dying at the home of our subject in Kansas, when more than four-score years old. The wife and mother departed this life in 1891 while making a visit in Missouri. Her father, Ahab Sayles, a native of Vermont, served in the war of 1812, and subse- quently was numbered among the pioneers of New York, Canada and Ionia county, Mich., as he improved farms in each of these localities.
The birth of Andrew M. Sprague occurred in Paris, Canada, November 27, 1834. His only sister, Roxie, died at the age of ten years, and his only brother, Edwin R., who enlisted in the Twentieth Indiana Infantry in 1861, and took part in a number of campaigns and engage- ments, was stricken with illness and died at Har- rison's Landing in 1862. He now is sleeping his last sleep in the quiet cemetery at Crown Point, Ind.
The boyhood of Dr. Sprague was spent in Ohio and Michigan, and though his educational advantages were extremely limited, as might be expected in a log-cabin school-house in a new country, he was an apt student and acquired knowledge readily. Of his classmates and young friends of that immediate district and period eight are now successful physicians and four are able members of the bar. At eighteen Dr. Sprague commenced teaching school, and as early as 1858 began the study of medicine at Crown Point with Dr. Pratt.
. In July, 1862, Dr. Sprague enlisted in Com- pany A, Seventy-third Indiana Volunteer Infan- try, and was mustered into the service at South Bend as sergeant. Just at this time occurred his brother's funeral, and, turning from his lonely grave. the young soldier who had so recently taken the oath of allegiance, started for southern battlefields, joining his regiment at Louisville. Later he took part in the terrible conflicts at Richmond, Perryville and Stone River, and on the 15th of February. 1863. succumbed to ill- ness and for weeks languished in hospitals at Murfreesboro and Nashville. When convales- cent he acted as a steward in hospitals until November 27, 1863, when he was honorably dis- charged on account of disability.
When he had recovered from his army expe- rience sufficiently Dr. Sprague embarked in medical practice at Grand Rapids, Mich .. and remained in that city until 1876, when he returned to the Hoosier state, and for two years practiced his profession at Koutz. In Novem- ber. 1878, he located in Rice county, Kans., at a place now known as Frederick, and dwelt there for fourteen years. In the meantime he pursued a thorough course in the Chicago Homeopathic College. attending lectures there two seasons.
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In April, 1892, he came to Kingfisher and has been actively engaged in practice here ever since.
In social and fraternal circles, as well as in his profession, Dr. Sprague is very popular with all who know him. He is identified with the Masonic order, and is past commander of King- fisher Post No. 2, G. A. R., and surgeon-general of the department of Oklahoma, with the rank of general, now serving his second term in this important position. He is a trustee of the Bap- tist Church, and as chairman of the building committee, played a very active part in its his- tory. In his political faith he is an uncompromis- ing Republican.
The wife of our subject's early manhood bore the maiden name of Juline M. Young, and their marriage took place in Huron county, Ohio. She was born in that locality and died in Lowell, Mich., leaving two children: Frances, now Mrs. Rosenkranz, of Butte, Okla., and Edwin, a printer, now connected with the Russel (Kans.) Journal. In Lyons, Kans., occurred the mar- riage of Dr. Sprague and Miss Dora Peterson, who was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, received a fine education, and came to the United States previous to her father's death. She was born in a house which was built in 1600 by her ancestor, Jacob Peterson, and the prop- erty descended to her father, who bore the same Christian name. One child blesses the union of the doctor and wife, namely, Josephine.
E. M. FLICKINGER. Even the most san- . guine did not realize what a great future was in store for Oklahoma as a grain-pro- ducing country, and within a few years the world has been astonished, as Kingfisher, in particular, became noted as the largest local grain market in the world. E. M. Flickinger, secretary and manager of the Farmers' Grain & Elevator Company, and a prominent member of the Grain Dealers Association of Oklahoma and Indian Territories, has been closely and actively asso- ciated with the local industry for over two years, and has done much in the upbuilding of King- fisher and Oklahoma.
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The paternal grandfather of our subject, Jacob Flickinger, was a native of Germany, but at an carly day became a resident of Lancaster county, Pa. Later he removed to what is termed the "four-mile valley," a place to the north of Ham- ilton, Butler county, Ohio, and there he was one of the pioneers who cleared and improved prop- erty. His son, J. K., father of our subject, was born in that locality, and became an influential business man there. Near the town of Seven Mile, Ohio, he built a large flour and saw mill, propelled by the water of Seven Mile creek. He
also conducted a large local grain and live-stock business until 1885, when he came to the west. For many years he was a member of the board of trade in Cincinnati. For fifteen years he car- ried on a farm near Kingman and conducted an insurance business at that point, and early in 1900 located on a homestead situated near Hen- nessey, Okla., where he is similarly occupied. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Mars- ton, was born near Trenton, Ohio, a daughter of Theodore Marston, a farmer. He was a native of the Green Mountain state, and came of a fine New England family.
E. M. Flickinger, whose birth occurred near Hamilton, Ohio, November 14, 1861, has six liv- ing brothers and sisters. Mollie, the eldest, and Lizzie, the youngest, are yet with their parents; Mrs. Hannah Haines resides in this county, and Mrs. Sadie Cooprider lives near Augusta, Okia. M. M. is engaged in the feed and seeds business in Kingfisher, and Joseph is a farmer of King- man, Kans.
The early years of E. M. Flickinger's life were spent in Seven Mile, Ohio, and after his public- school education was completed he attended Ot- terbein University, at Westerville, Ohio, for two years. In 1883 he began his career as a teacher. and to further equip himself in that direction he later pursued a course of training at the National Normal at Lebanon, Ohio. Going to Missouri in 1886, he became a citizen of DeSoto, on the Iron Mountain railway line, and was timekeeper for engineers and firemen, until he was promoted to a place as bill clerk in the office of the pur- chasing agent of the Missouri Pacific, in St. Louis. On account of illness he returned to Seven Mile, Ohio, and for a year was head miller of the new process flour mills there. The mills were destroyed by fire, and then began the young man's experience in the western schools. For two years he was principal of schools at Spivey, Kans .. and a member of the board of examiners before whom the teachers of King- man county appeared for certificates. During one summer he was an instructor in the county normal sessions, and for a year he held the im- portant post of president of the Teachers' Asso- ciation of the county.
On the 19th of April, 1892, Mr. Flickinger lo- cated a claim on Cooper creek, fourteen miles northwest of Kingfisher, and made his home there for six years, in the meantime improving the farm. In the winters of 1895-96 and 1896-97 he taught district schools in this county, and during the school year of 1897-98 was assistant superintendent of the Hennessey schools. He was so highly esteemed as a teacher there that he then was tendered the position of superin- tendent, but declined, owing to other business duties.
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In the spring of 1898 the Farmers' Grain & Elevator Company had been organized, with Mr. Flickinger as secretary and manager, and that summer he superintended the construction of the firm's elevator at Kingfisher. It is modern and well equipped, having sixteen bins, and an engine of sixteen horse-power. Its capacity is thirty thousand bushels, and shipments are chiefly to points in the south. In the spring of 1900 our subject assumed the entire charge of the business, and is making a splendid success of the enterprise. He handles all kinds of grain, seeds, castor beans, and, in short, nearly all of the products of this locality, save cotton and broom corn .-
In addition to his regular line of business, Mr. Flickinger owns and deals to some extent in real estate in this city, and has a pleasant home at the corner of Euclid and Fifth streets. The lady who presides over the hospitalities of this abode was Miss Eunice Potter prior to the cere- mony, in 1890, which united her destinies with those of our subject. She is a daughter of P. M. Potter, an Illinois farmer, and was born in Fair- bury, Livingston county, Ill. Three boys have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Flickinger, namely: Ralph, Milo and John Perry.
Mr. Flickinger is identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America. In political faith he is a Republican, believing, however, in the free-silver plank, though at this time other issues have taken precedence. In religion he is a Congrega- tionalist, and is an active worker in the King- fisher Church, also being the superintendent of the Sunday school.
A SA PUTNAM FRISBIE, whose claim in Logan county is located on the northwest quarter of section 2, township 16, range 2 west, comes of distinguished ancestry. The Fris- bie family is a very old onc, and came from Scotland in the early days, being among the first pioneers of Connecticut. They rendered conspicuous service to their adopted country during the struggle for independence, one of their number having lost his life on the ship Bon Homme Richard, at the time Paul Jones had charge of the American frigate.
Born in Easton, Washington county, N. Y., January 28, 1823, Asa Frisbie is the son of Rus- sell B. and Mary (Taggart) Frisbie. When grown to manhood, Russell Frisbie moved from Connecticut to Washington county, N. Y., where he made a living for himself and family by working at his trade of shoemaker. When his son Asa was one year old he moved to Baldwins- ville, Onondaga county, where he still mended and made shoes, continuing the same occupa-
tion after taking up his residence in Milwaukee in 1836. He later moved to Summit, and there the boy received a fair education until histwelfth year. When fourteen years old he boarded the steam vessel C. C. Trowbridge and worked as steward, being obliged to buy all the provisions used by - the company, a responsibility which he assumed with credit. His next venture was as a sailor before the mast, plying the waters between Bos- ton and New York, and engaged in the coasting trade. This occupation left him with little money in his purse, as he was obliged to assist in sup- porting the family at home.
March 4, 1849, Mr. Frisbie married Hannah Hazelwood, a native of England, who came to America with her parents when thirteen years of age. After his marriage, Mr. Frisbie renounced allegiance to the seas, and undertook to manage his father's farm. In 1852 he moved to Water- town and started the first draying business con- ducted in the place. He was fairly successful, and after three years bought a farm in Dodge county, Wis. His land was covered with timber and the clearing and preparing for the crops entailed a great deal of hard work. In 1865 he disposed of his improved farm and went to Clin- ton county, Mo., where he bought one hundred acres of land, later adding forty more to the place. In May, 1890, he came to Oklahoma and looked over the prospects, and tried to buy land south of Guthrie, but failed in his attempt. He came again the next month and succeeded in buying the claim on which he now lives. He then returned to his home and in October brought his family and household goods, and started immediately in the dairy business, fur- nishing milk to the citizens of Guthrie. At first he built a cheap barn on his place, but later re- placed it with a fine barn of stone, 33x60 feet, also a silo seventeen feet in diameter and twenty feet deep, constructed of stone, as well as a stone milk-house, which is a model in its way and the best in the territory. The dimensions are 14x14 feet. In the loft is a thirty-three-barrel tank, which is filled by the windmill, the water being conveyed thence to the house. In addition, there are two other buildings on the place, besides a modern barn for horses, 20x30 feet. At the pres- ent time the milk is not.distributed in the town, but converted into butter, which commands the best price and receives the approval of a con- stantly increasing trade.
In politics Mr. Frisbie is a Republican and was formerly a Whig, having voted for Zachary Tay- lor in 1848. Since that time he has voted for every Republican President. To Mr. and Mrs. Frisbie have been born eight children. Emma is married to William Harper, has four children and lives in Colorado: Ida is the wife of Edward Sparling, has five children, and lives in Oneida,
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Kans .; Belle married Alvan Church, has two children, and lives in Tulare, Cal .; Minnie is at home; Alice died in Missouri at the age of twenty-one; Birdie married Fred Madden, has three children and lives in Oklahoma: Rosella is the wife of R. T. Mitchell, has three children and lives in Lincoln county, Okla.
Arthur Asa Frisbie, the youngest of the fam- ily, is now the manager of the Jersey Dairy, which is recognized as the most modern dairy in the territory. The latest improved test for qual- ity of milk, besides the latest modern separator and other necessary improvements for a first- class dairy can be found here. Mr. Frisbie was educated at Stewartsville. Mo., and represents in every way the model dairyman of the present century. He was married in Guthrie, November 3, 1897, to Miss Gertrude Scribner, daughter of S. A. Scribner, of Guthrie. They have two chil- dren: Benjamin Arthur and Ruth. Politically, he is a Republican. He is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Woodmen of the World.
H. M. FIELDING. The thriving city of Guthrie has no more public-spirited and enterprising resident than H. M. Field- ing, who cast in his lot here eleven years ago and in the meantime has neglected no opportu- nity to advance the commercial prosperity and beauty of the place. A true friend to education, he has done good service as a member of the school board, and as chairman of the committee on buildings and grounds and as one of the pur- chasing committee he has used his influence in the right direction, and has advocated as excel- lent schools and educational facilities for our pupils as has been consistent with the wishes of the majority of our citizens.
The paternal grandfather of our subject, David Fielding, was born in the south of England, and at an early day he came to America and set- . tled in New York state, where he made his home for many years, though dying in Canada. Thomas, father of H. M. Fielding, was born in the Empire state, and at the time of the Pike's Peak excitement he crossed the plains to Den- ver, and engaged in mining and prospecting. He also dealt extensively in live stock and horses, and for many years was a contractor and builder in Central City, Colo. He traveled throughout the west, and made numerous trips from Canada to Colorado and New Mexico and other western states. When he had become well-to-do he re- tired, and at the time of his death, when he was in his sixty-fifth year, he was living in Salida, Colo. His wife, Margaret, a native of Canada, is yet living, her home being in Seattle. Wash. She is a daughter of Hugh Mccutcheon, who
was born in the northern part of Ireland, and set- tled near Guelph, Ont., where he died an aged man. His parents were natives of Scotland, and his wife, a Miss Stuart, attained the age of one hundred and two years. They were members of the Congregational Church.
H. M. Fielding is the eldest of six children, and his only sister and all but one of his brothers survive. Born near Guelph, Ont., February 24. 1859, he received a public-school education and at the age of eighteen commenced learn- ing the carpenter's trade under his unele, Rich- ard Hamilton. At the end of three years of prac- tical experience he started out west, and for a period found work at his calling in Pembina, N. D. Later he went to Denver, where he was employed for some time, and when Salida was founded, he erected the first building in the town. He continued to take and execute con- tracts for buildings in Colorado and Idaho, also prospecting and mining to some extent in those states, until Oklahoma was opened. In May, 1889, he came to Guthrie, where he since has devoted his attention strictly to building and contracting. Among the numerous monuments to his skill, the Congregational Church, the An- derson and the Gray Brothers' business blocks, the residences of Mr. Ramsay and Mr. Beland, and scores of other buildings for public and pri- vate purposes are examples.
Mr. Fielding is a Mason, belonging to Guthrie Lodge No. 2, A. F. & A. M., and he also is affil- iated with the Odd Fellows Society and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Politically, he is a Republican, and religiously, he is a Con- gregationalist, being a trustee of the church here.
The marriage of Mr. Fielding and Miss Sarah Dewey, who was born and reared in Michigan, was solemnized in Aberdeen, S. D., May 6, 1889. They are the parents of a son and three dangh- ters, who are named, respectively, in the order of birth: Mabel. Ruth, Paul Dewey and Margaret.
B DWARD GOULD is a citizen from other shores who has demonstrated his ability to compete with the most enterprising of the business men of Hennessey. Of English de- scent, he was born in London in 1852, and came to America in 1871. His father, William Gould. who was a member of an old and distinguished Somerset family, was a shoemaker, and for years plied his trade in London. He married Hannah Arthur, a native of Dorkin, Surrey, and who died in London. She was the mother of eight children, six of whom grew to maturity, and five are living, only one being in America.
Mr. Gould had excellent educational advan- tages, having been trained at Brewers School, an
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
institution founded in 1648 by Lady Ellis Owen. As a means of livelihood he later learned the shoemaker's trade under his father's able instruc- tion, and after coming to America, followed his trade in Milford, Iowa, for a number of years. Being of a progressive turn of mind, and dissat- isfied with the prospects of the shoemaking busi- ness, he graduated into the harness business, and had quite a large harness shop in Milford, which was conducted on model lines, and was a source of considerable revenue. In 1886 he located in Mineola, Holt county, Neb., continuing his former occupation until December of 1889, when he settled in Hennessey. The enterprise in the new town was started in a small frame building, 8x16 feet, which the constantly increasing de- mand soon rendered inadequate, and the present structure, 25x80 feet, was the result. Here is manufactured nearly all of the harness sold in the store, and the excellent patronage would seem to indicate a satisfactory product.
In Milford, Iowa, occurred the marriage of Mr. Gould and Alice M. Donohue, a native of Milford. Of this union there are four living children : Belle, Nellie, Ralph and Clyde. As a member of the Democratic party. Mr. Gould has rendered great service to his township, having served as councilman from the fourth ward for one term, and as member of the school board for the same length of time. He was also secretary of the Democratic central committee for one term, during 1892, and is at present a member of the Democratic Club, of Hennessey, and is serv- ing as its president.
Mr. Gould holds a high place in the estimation of the community, and is appreciated for his many progressive ideas, and oft manifest inter- est in all that pertains to the upbuilding of the locality in which his efforts are exercised.
E DWARD LEE BLINCOE, who has been connected with the interests of Guthrie since the opening of Oklahoma, and who is now extensively engaged in the lumber business, was born in the District of Columbia, and is a son of William and Mary (Hutton) Blincoe. On both sides, he is descended from participants in the colonial and Revolutionary wars and the war of 1812. His paternal grandmother was a Fairfax and traced her lineage to Lord Fairfax, of England.
A native of Fairfax county, Va., William Blin- coe embarked in the hardware business in Bal- timore, Md., and later operated a mill at Bull Run, afterward making his home in Washington until 1855, when he settled in Missouri. In 1856 he became a pioneer farmer of Cass county, choosing land near Harrisonville for his home.
From there, in 1862, he moved to Boonville. Copper county, Mo., where for a short time he was a lieutenant in the Missouri home guard. In 1865 he returned to his old farm in Cass county, where he remained for five years. The year 1870 found him engaged in farming and stock-raising near Fort Scott, in Bourbon county, Kans., where he died two years later. In politics he was a Republican. One of his brothers was a staff officer under General Lee.
The wife of William Blincoe was born at Mount Vernon, Fairfax county, Va., on the old Washington-Custer place. Her father, Isaac Hutton, a native of London, England, was de- scended from Bishop Hutton and a long line of clergymen. He was educated for the ministry, but on coming to America became interested in a publishing business in Albany, N. Y. . Next he moved to Washington, D. C., where he en- gaged in the book and stationery business, but finally retired to the old Washington-Custer place, where he died in 1859. By his marriage to Miss Smith of Virginia he had fourteen children. The family of William Blincoe comprised five children, four of whom are living, viz., Mollie, widow of J. L. Thompson, of whom mention is made in the following sketch; George W., a large farmer in Bourbon county, Kans .; Edward Lee; and William, a graduate of Michigan State University law school, and later secretary of the board of public land commissioners under Gov- ernor Renfrow of Oklahoma.
Born January 3, 1849, Edward Lee Blincoe was seven years of age when, in 1856, the family moved to Missouri. He was reared there and in Kansas. On account of the war his education was broken in upon and was more limited than it would have been otherwise. He engaged in farming and stock-raising, first in Missouri, later in Bourbon county, Kans., and bought one hun- dred and sixty acres thirteen miles southwest of Fort Scott, on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad. From time to time he added to his property, until he now owns eight hundred and forty acres, all in one body excepting eighty acres.
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